Season One of Zone Startups India's reality web series PitchRight concludes
The concept was designed to help selected entrepreneurs improve their pitch through the experience of a 40-second elevator pitch, followed by a feedback session from the investor.
PitchRight, the reality web series created and produced by Zone Startups India, recently concluded its first season. PitchRight features 13 entrepreneurs, who pitch their startup to an investor in an actual ascending elevator. The concept is designed to help selected entrepreneurs improve their pitch through the practical experience of a 40-second elevator pitch, and is followed by a feedback session from the investor.
The 13 entrepreneurs were shortlisted from a pool of 120 applications. The episodes were shot in January 2018 at the BSE building, which houses the office of Zone Startups India. The series went live in mid-February 2018 and the average length of each episode is 4-5 minutes.
The series has got over 2 lakh views across digital platforms such as Youtube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and was well received by young entrepreneurs looking to understand the nuances of pitching, as well as by people looking to discover new-age startups.
Angel investor Sanjay Mehta, who was part of the series, says, “PitchRight was a thrilling experience to engage with 13 entrepreneurs - 40 seconds pitch in BSE elevator with no rehearsal. One take shooting was done where I was also put in the spotlight as much as the entrepreneur to give feedback on their story. In one word, if I would have to describe it, I would say ‘Thrilling’.”
PitchRight is an attempt by Zone Startups India to generate informative as well as entertaining video content for the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Ajay Ramasubramaniam, Director India, Zone Startups said, “We are thoroughly pleased with the outcome of the first season of PitchRight. Our first and foremost objective with this web-series has been to create content that benefits the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The format has the right mix of adrenaline and a challenge to pitch to a real investor, in a gamified format.”
The nine finalists were also invited for a Demo Day at the conclusion of the series. The finalists were founders/co-founders from Gaia Smart Cities, SweatFree, Eyedentify Systems, Eduisfun Technologies, Dimension NXG, CupShup, BECKFriends, Agrahyah Technologies and AskArvi.
The Demo Day saw the finalists pitching in front of a jury and audience. The audience consisted of a curated group of investors, companies, mentors, and other key stakeholders from the startup ecosystem. Shikha Pandey, co-founder of BECKFriends.com won PitchRight based on the cumulative score by the jury and audience and received a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.
Shikha says, “'PitchRight has been 'Just Right' for us. BECKFriends.com is a disruptive startup and we needed an equally disruptive format like PitchRight to get our adrenaline flowing and to give our very best. From the 40 seconds pitch in an elevator to the finale product demo in front of ten judges was all done with great professionalism and without any retakes.”
Season 1 of PitchRight was supported by HDFC Bank, AWS Activate, Vidooly, NewCrop, Digital Ocean and YourStory.
All episodes of PitchRight are available on Zone Startups India’s Youtube channel
